World’s Protected Land – level 3

According to a new study, protected land is shrinking around the world, and the USA under President Trump has seen its largest reduction ever.

However, the study says that 90% of the government’s proposed land protection changes have been issued since 2000.

Trump is also not the first president to shrink a national monument (which in the USA is a protected area similar to a national park). For example, three different presidents shrank Mount Olympus National Monument in Washington before it eventually was designated a national park.

Across the globe, 1.3 million square miles of land protections have been downgraded or removed since 1961, according to the study. The changes are largely in favour of industrial operations, but local pressure and land claims are also a cause.